IPL Super Sunday: Playoffs race reaches boiling point in Dharamsala and Delhi

IPL 2026: A Super Sunday with real consequence: Punjab Kings must beat table-toppers RCB to keep their playoff hopes alive in Dharamsala, while Rajasthan Royals look to rediscover form against a spirited Delhi Capitals side in the national capital.

In Short

• Struggling Punjab Kings face in-form RCB in Dharamsala on Sunday afternoon
• PBKS need nothing less than two points to keep their playoffs hopes alive
• Rajasthan Royals, returning after a week-long break, face Delhi in the national capital

It is a double-header day in the Indian Premier League that could, for better or worse, write the next chapter of two very different stories. First, a Punjab Kings side in alarming freefall — and neck-deep in off-field drama — take on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the picture-postcard setting of Dharamsala. Then, as the sun dips over the capital, Rajasthan Royals return from a week-long hibernation to face Delhi Capitals on their own patch. High stakes, frayed nerves, and no shortage of subplots. Super Sunday has rarely felt more apt.

Punjab Kings' collapse has been the kind that makes you rub your eyes in disbelief. Not so long ago, Shreyas Iyer's men were the most exciting team in the tournament. When they hunted down 264 in Delhi, they did not just win a game — they sent a message. Thirteen points from seven matches had them strolling towards the playoffs. Now, five defeats in a row later, that stroll has become a desperate scramble. They remain in fourth place, but the points column has stubbornly refused to budge, and a sixth successive defeat against the table-toppers on Sunday could bring the curtain down on their season — completing one of the most spectacular second-half implosions this tournament has ever seen.

And it is not just the cricket that has been falling apart. The mountains have offered Punjab Kings no sanctuary. While the team has specialised in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory on the field, the dressing room has been leaking in ways that have nothing to do with the weather. Whether the noise has seeped into the dressing room is the question no one at PBKS is willing to answer publicly.

That reluctance was on full display Saturday evening, when the franchise dispatched physio Andrew Leipus to face the press — a transparent attempt to avoid difficult questions on the eve of their season-defining fixture.

What was visible at the training ground, at least, offered a sliver of encouragement. Iyer, his form having deserted him at the worst possible moment, put in a long, purposeful session in the nets. He then took his shoes off and lingered on the field — talking to his bowlers, his batters, his support staff — the kind of quiet leadership that suggests a captain who has not given up. Prabhsimran Singh, freshly revived by a fifty against Mumbai Indians on Thursday, followed with a punishing 45-minute hit. A rain shower threatened to cut proceedings short, but Punjab returned after the break, with young Suryansh Shegde getting his time in the middle as well.

The challenge ahead of them is clear enough. Earlier in the season, a batting unit that feasted on 200-plus totals was providing enough cover to paper over the bowling cracks. Those cracks are now chasms. Arshdeep Singh has been the one man fighting the fire, but he cannot do it alone — and Marco Jansen has been leaking runs with the kind of regularity that gives captains sleepless nights. Lockie Ferguson could come into the reckoning, with Leipus confirming a fully fit squad, though the bowlers' workload in Saturday's session was notably light.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru, meanwhile, arrive in Dharamsala having had the perfect week. Virat Kohli's sensational hundred in Raipur has put a spring in their step, and a win on Sunday would virtually guarantee them a top-two finish. They are a team playing with the ease of champions — and that, frankly, is the last thing a rattled Punjab side needed to hear.

CAN RAJASTHAN FIND FORM ON RETURN?

Come Sunday evening, the focus shifts to Delhi, where Rajasthan Royals will be anxious to know whether their captain is back. Riyan Parag missed the Ahmedabad game with a hamstring complaint, but he has had a week to put his feet up and recover, and his return to the middle order cannot come soon enough. Without him, Rajasthan have leaned uncomfortably on 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — a phenomenal talent being asked to carry more than his share. Yashasvi Jaiswal, standing in as skipper last week, needs runs badly: three scores below 15 in his last four outings is not the form of a man who wants to be Delhi's chief problem on Sunday evening.

Rust, if there is any after the break, must be shaken off quickly — because Delhi Capitals, whatever their playoff prospects may look like, will not be rolling over. They come into this fixture having chased 211 against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala, and with the added motivation of giving their home crowd something to cheer about in what has been a thoroughly miserable home campaign: one win from six at their own fortress.

Rajasthan are fifth, 12 points from 11 games, with three matches left to play. Two wins from three keep the dream alive; three from three and they can start thinking about the top four. But before any of that, they need to rediscover the momentum that evaporated across back-to-back defeats before the break.

CONDITIONS AND WEATHER: DHARAMSALA AND DELHI

Dharamsala has been a bowler's friend this season, rewarding pace and bounce while offering spinners precious little in return. With rain falling on the eve of the match, there could be a touch more in the surface for the seamers on Sunday afternoon. Teams have preferred to chase here all season, and that instinct is unlikely to change — though with the game scheduled for the afternoon, dew should be less of a factor than usual.

Delhi, as ever, remains a riddle. Totals this season at the venue have ranged from 264 to 75 — a spread that tells you almost nothing and everything at once. Both sides have the firepower to adapt, but whichever team reads the conditions first is likely to hold the advantage.

PBKS vs RCB — TEAM NEWS

Punjab Kings could make one change, dropping Shashank Singh in favour of Vishnu Vinod, who impressed as an Impact Substitute last time out. RCB have no reason to fix what is not broken.

PBKS PREDICTED XI: Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Suryansh Shedge, Vishnu Vinod, Azmatullah Omarzai, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar.

Impact Sub: Yuzvendra Chahal

RCB PREDICTED XI: Jacob Bethell, Virat Kohli, Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar (c), Tim David, Jitesh Sharma, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rasikh Salam Dar, Josh Hazlewood, Jacob Duffy.

Impact Sub: Venkatesh Iyer.

DC vs RR — TEAM NEWS

Riyan Parag is expected to return and reclaim the captaincy for Rajasthan. Delhi are likely to name the same XI that got the job done against Punjab Kings in Dharamsala.

DC PREDICTED XI: KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (C), Madhav Tiwari, Mukesh Kumar, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi

Impact Sub: Ashutosh Sharma

RR PREDICTED XI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (C), Shimron Hetmyer, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Shubham Dubey, Dasun Shanaka, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande.

Impact Sub: Brijesh Sharma

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